Screen Australia has announced the launch of two new initiatives focused on market and audience growth for Australian-made, theatrically-released feature films.
Working alongside global development and research organisations Tatino Films and Publikum, it has development the new First Cut Lab, to strengthen narratives, as well as the Impact & Insights programs, which are aimed at providing filmmakers with audience insights.
As Screen Australia says, the initiatives are intended to help filmmakers release new projects with their intended audience in mind, guided by a release strategy aided by public data and trends.
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The need for strategic support
‘Connecting Australian stories to audiences locally and globally has never been more complex, making it critical that filmmakers have access to the right tools, expertise and audience insights,’ said Rakel Tansley, Screen Australia’s Head of Market & Audience.
‘Through our First Cut Lab and Impact & Insights partnerships, Australian creatives will have the opportunity to work alongside international leaders and access guidance, research and audience intelligence to shape their projects and strategies. Our aim is to empower filmmakers to maximise the potential for Australian stories to resonate at home and around the world.’
Screen Australia’s First Cut Lab
First Cut Lab will ‘assist local features to maximise their reach potential by offering expert guidance to shape the strongest possible cut’.
As Screen Australia notes, the input of Tatino Films is invaluable to this program. Tatino is a film and talent development initiative that has helped to deliver similar advice to over 300 filmmakers from over 50 countries, seeing 150 projects to release, from features to series and shorts.
Those in the early-to-mid stages of their career may benefit from this initiative, with advice focused largely on sharpening the core narrative of feature film projects.
Four projects in the editing stage will be accepted, with selected creatives set to participate in a tailored workshop and mentorship with a ‘bespoke panel of international delegates, including festival curators, directors, editors and producers’.
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Screen Australia’s Impact & Insights program
The second major initiative from Screen Australia, the Impact & Insights program, is focused on connecting established practitioners working on a narrative feature film with analysts at Publikum to develop ‘audience strategies and increase engagement on release’.
Publikum’s ‘extensive anthropological research and data analysis’ aims to offer insights to strengthen release plans for local and international audiences, including tips for marketing, distribution and overall strategy.
This program will support up to three late-stage development and five post-production narrative feature film projects heading to release.
Audience In/Sight series also announced
In addition to these programs, Screen Australia will also run a series of industry-focused presentations under the Audience In/Sight banner, covering market research, anthropology and the possibilities of better tailoring films to audiences.
The first part of the series, also titled Impact & Insights, will be a co-presentation with Publikum and explore ‘how to make audience data work for your project’. It will take place online on 14 July from 4pm AEST, and registrations are now open.
While no amount of data can exactly analyse what audiences really want, and it’s the stories and delivery that will most appeal, gaining market insights may allow for some deeper learning or tighter refinement as projects enter their final stages.
With recent reports suggesting a possible misalignment between what Australian audiences want and what Australian-made films deliver, this initiative may bridge a gap, or otherwise provide filmmakers with advice to better tailor projects for their intended audience.
